Once more unto the breach,
or at least the variable output in the long, and
not always distinguished career of the dearly
departed Lucio (R.I.P), Demonia followed
such previous outings as Il Fantasma di Sodoma and Quando Alice Ruppe lo Specchio and
preceded others such as Voci dal Profondo, Un Gatto nel Cervello: I Volte nel Terrore(a godawful bloodthirsty injoke that had braindead
gorehounds shedding tears of gratitude whilst
those of boredom welled up in me), La Casa
del Tempo and Le Porte del Silenzio. In other
words, it came fair square in the middle of the
worst period of an at best, uneven directorial
career.

At the time of it's inception
and execution director Fulci was clearly on the
downslope of a very full life, and whilst the
films around it illustrate that graphically, Demonia actually has some points to recommend it. It's
certainly not up to the old boy's vintage, those
early Eighties salad days of wine and roses that saw output incorporating Lo Squartatore
di New York, L'Aldila, Paura nella
Citta dei Morti Viventi and Quella Villa
Accanto al Cimitrio, or even going further
back, the '72 masterpiece Non si Sevizia
un Paperino, but it at least offers more than lame outtakes
and a plot stringing gore scenes together for
the sake of it. Demonia tells of an ill-fated
archaeological expedition into the Valley of Temples
in southeast Sicily led by Professor Malcolm Evans
(Brett Halsey). When former student, Liza Harris
(Meg Register, whom Fulci cast as his lead after
Catriona MacColl declined), on her very first
dig is drawn to the ruins of a 16th Century convent
and its ominous legend circa late 1400's, the
spirit of a crucified nun is inadvertently unleashed,
resulting in possession and subsequent grisly
revenge wreaked upon a small Sicilian town. Transpires
that descendents of the inhabitants of said town
killed a trio of nuns much given to indulging
in such sins as sex, murder and baby burning -
just having sooo much fun that when the less than
thrilled townsfolk brought it all to an abrupt,
premature and terminal climax - they were somewhat
unhappy. hence the desire for revenge. Liza's
obsession with uncovering the truth takes her
deeper into the forbidden ruins, further from
sanity and into confrontation with local villagers
driven to protect the entombed secrets of their
ancestors.

Another cult classic from
Lucio Fulci, the Godfather of Gore, with
all the trappings of Italian 'B' horror - blood,
gore and extreme violence? Well, no, not really,
but sumptuously shot, and quite stylishly scored, Demonia is one of Fulci's better efforts
from the embers of his career. Okay, that's not
saying much I grant you, and this is not in remotely
the same class as his best works, but although
the acting is plodding, and the scripting at best
serviceable, the old gorehound directs with more
alacrity than is often the case. Playing is in
all honesty dismal, though on the bright side,
Meg Register is appealing enough eye-candy when
onscreen. Scripting is somewhat confused and appears
to have been largely discounted by Fulci as a
viable part of the movie-making process by this
stage of his oeuvre. For the more bloodthirsty,
my suggestion would be a re-watch of Un Gatto
nel Cervello: I Volte nel Terrore, the only
violence here is a tongue nailed to a barrel an,
eye-gouging and an Inferno in Diretta-style
decapitation between two springy trees. Furthermore,
the few gore effects on show are laughable, it
would appear the effects budget was about $3 and
a subway token, but for die-hard Fulci aficionados,
completists and the tolerant, Demonia is
worth a casual glance, as it is a pleasingly photographed,
picturesque and surprisingly agreeable picture.

Video

Media Blasters' Shriek Show DVD version
presents Demonia in non- anamorphic ersatz
-widescreen, ostensibly letterboxed at 1.66:1, though
a number of compositions suggest a matted fullscreen
transfer to this reviewer. The print used is reasonable
shape; whilst picture quality has a slightly faded,
washed-out appearance, there is little grain and
a few specks sprinkled throughout the picture; minimal
blemishes and nothing too distracting. The colours
in the film are fantastic, vivid and if the image
transfer is not great, their very vibrancy actually
tends to mask that. Shriek Show deserve credit for
a job well done as the film wasn't exactly perfect
in any previous incarnation.

Audio

Media Blasters' Shriek Show DvD version
presents Demonia in Dolby Digital Mono.
The soundtrack is very clear, though fidelity is
limited and being Mono it fails to excite on any
level. Some dialogue is too quiet, and ambient sounds
consequently too loud. The music too was a little
quiet.

Extra Features

Supplementals
are pretty mediocre, comprising an interview transcript
running to a couple of pages with star Brett Hasley.
It says nothing of note. There's also the four-minute
clip entitled 'Fulci Lives', a dire, shot
on camcorder slice of behind the scenes footage
showing the preparation of the decapitation between
two trees sequence. This can also be found
on Anchor Bay's The Beyond DVD.
There's also a reasonably comprehensive Fulci biography.

The Verdict

This
reviewer's not a huge fan of Lucio Fulci, but admittedly
partial to a smattering of his oeuvre, so Demonia,
taken relatively works well enough as a one-shot
viewing experience, though probably doesn't possess
much replay value for all but the committed (should
be?). The visual and aural transfers are relatively
passable, though hardly outstanding and this is
definitely one for the dedicated fan only.

Originally born unto this world as Terror Australis.net back in March 2002, Digital Retribution is a proudly Australian website devoted to all things horror, cult, and exploitation that strives to promote Australian films and filmmakers while sharing its questionable taste in ultra-violent smut-laden local and international offerings with the rest of the world.